Journalism training in Zimbabwe in the digital age

While digital technologies have transformed journalism practices and improved journalists’ interactions with sources and audiences, they have also introduced a range of ethical challenges. This chapter explores how journalism training institutions in Zimbabwe – the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), the University of Zimbabwe (UZ), Lupane State University (LSU), and Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) – have adapted their curricula and teaching methods in response to these opportunities and challenges. Drawing on new institutionalism, this chapter analyses how these institutions have integrated digital tools amid economic and technological constraints. The findings show that although educators recognised the importance of digital tools in teaching and learning, their integration was hindered by institutional inertia, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and inadequate technological infrastructure. Consequently, some departments collaborated with external partners to equip students with essential digital journalism skills. This chapter thus illustrates how institutional dynamics shape the integration of digital technologies into journalism education in resource-constrained environments such as Zimbabwe.